


the space between worlds

by petcheetah



Series: the end of the (f*cking) world [5]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Immortality, Paradox, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2019-11-17 22:57:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18108221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petcheetah/pseuds/petcheetah
Summary: everything is wrong. this shouldn’t be possible. but here it is.five has brought them back, and now klaus stands in front of his thirty year old self while in his own thirteen year old body.





	1. Chapter 1

Five years they spent under the careful eyes of the Commision. They had made a deal with a woman called the Handler that they would add 5 extra years to the first 5 as long as they were able to go on every second mission together. Death became an everyday occurrence, both of them spending their time completing the Commission's so called ‘corrections’. Klaus’ fidgeting had returned to how it had been in the first years of their time in the ruins of the apocalypse. The times Five saw him he knew that Klaus was seeing the dead that they had both killed, and he did what he could to get his brothers thoughts off of them as much as he could. He knew Klaus had the ability to get back to his drugs now, but he truly didn’t wish for that to happen. Not after everything. And Klaus told him he wouldn’t when he finally got Five to speak his thoughts.

They spent their time assassinating, and Five used what time he could to plan a way to get back. He had been working on it for the last 40 years, and after all these years, he believed he had reached his answer.

It was when he brought it up with Klaus that he realised what he had somehow missed after all this time.

“Go.” Klaus told him, sniper poised at the ready over the fence. He didn’t even look Five’s way as the younger man finished telling him his theory.

Five snapped his head away from Vanya’s book, and looked at Klaus in disbelief.

“You’re coming with me, Klaus.” Five said, as if the fact should be obvious. And it should have been.

Klaus glanced at him, and his eyes flicked to things that Five could not see.

“No, I don’t think I am, little bro.” Klaus answered carefully. He leveled the gun at a car passing by and didn’t speak again.

Five clenched his teeth together and shook his head. Stubborn, _stupid_ brother.

He looked down at his calculations once more. He hadn’t planned for two people, his powers had never needed him to think of that, but he wasn’t going to leave behind the one person who had stayed by his side all this time.

Five breathed in deeply, and channeled his power through his body. And tore open a rip in time.

Klaus swung around behind him to see what was happening, and his eyes were met with a glowing blue portal in the sky. Five breathed in deeply, and looked through it. For a moment, neither Five or Klaus could see anything. And then a fire hydrant came flying through it, and nearly smacked right into Klaus. Five twisted around and grabbed hold of Klaus’ wrist, and _pulled_.

They both went falling through the tear, Five pulling as hard as he can with the added difficulty of bringing Klaus with him.

It was like they were being pushed through the smallest hole in existence, and when they were shoved out, everything felt…

Wrong.

And then they heard a voice that sounded far too familiar for either of them to mistake.

“Does anyone else see little Number Five… or little… me?”


	2. Chapter 2

It took a moment for Klaus to find his bearings, but he felt Five’s hand against his shoulder and shot up as he heard the words spoken. The voice seemed  _ too  _ familiar,  _ too  _ close to memories of his younger years before his voice had gotten duster and older from years upon years of living in a wasteland of a world. It was his voice, but it wasn’t. He pulled himself up with more ease than he had been able to in years.

And he faced his own face. Too young, far too young. He hadn’t seen it in so, so many years. Not like that. Not since the world had turned to ash and his family had fallen and everything had become so, so harsh.

This was… impossible.

But the reality of it was right in front of him.

Klaus turned to Five, who was holding his hand was an increasing strength. And found himself frozen. The person at his side was not the one he had found himself with for the last few decades. Just like the face he had looked at that looked so close to his own, Five looked far younger than he had been in so, so long.

Five turned to him, and Klaus looked at a 13 year old face who looked just as spooked as Klaus knew he, himself, looked like.

In sync, the two of them turned back to the group of people in front of them. Five did not let go of his hand.

And also in sync, they both went “shit.”

 

They had gotten used to strange things over the years, working under the Commision. Years of travelling to different times, following the orders of a boss that didn’t even seem human most of the time, made you get used to things that didn’t seem possible most times. And there was also the fact that one of them could travel in time, and the other could see the dead and could not seem to die.

And yet, staring at his own face, older and yet so many younger than his own, seemed like something he could never have expected.

It felt… wrong. He could see the hazy glaze in his own eyes, knew just how many drugs the man must have taken into his own body to have that kind of look, and it left a craving in him that he hadn’t felt in years. He was able to ignore it, but it left a cold feeling in him to know that the only reason  _ this  _ Klaus could ever leave the drugs behind as he did would be having to survive through an apocalypse. 

But it wasn’t just that. Ben stood next to this Klaus, a Ben who looked at him but didn’t seem to  _ see  _ him. Who was too focused on watching  _ that  _ Klaus that he didn’t seem to notice his state.

Five squeezed his hand and carefully let go. He began asking their siblings – their  _ alive siblings _ , this felt so  _ wrong _ – about the date, about everything that was going on. And Vanya was the one to answer, and Klaus dragged his eyes away from Ben to look at the girl who, by all accounts, had been the one to cause  _ everything. _

He didn’t say a word, because Five seemed to be putting that away for the moment and that meant he was planning something and while he didn’t know what that is he trusted his younger brother. He would let him do as he thought was necessary.

He sat very still, carefully keeping his eye on the only member of his family who had never been able to bring herself to talk to him properly after everything had been destroyed.

As Five asked them questions, Klaus was nearly too focused to notice as one of his siblings moved behind him before resting a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t flinch, he had too many years of practice to do that, but it was unexpected and he quickly twisted around to face them.

_ Diego _ .

Wearing the same face that Klaus had seen every time they saw each other after everyone had died. A familiar face, but one that looked at him with a distrust that had his heart pounding.

“You– how are you–” Diego tried to speak, but it was all for naught as his eyes caught onto the other Klaus’ face. The other Klaus had finally brought himself to look at the one situated on a chair, one leg delicately placed over the other and, despite his 13 year old face, looking older than he had ever seen himself.

With his attention on the old-but-not-old Klaus, Ben’s attention followed. And his eyes locked with too young,  _ too old _ , eyes, staring right at him.

Klaus breathed in, and looked at Diego and Ben and  _ himself _ .

“Just call me Four. That would be easily for all of us, right,  _ Klaus? _ ” He, Klaus– no,  _ Four  _ looked at them with a quiet look of consideration, and didn’t wait for a response. Four stood, and he walked over to Five who had finally finished speaking, and he grabbed hold of the other man –  _ boys  _ – hand. And they both vanished in a blue flash.

 

“Well, that was… interesting.” Diego muttered to himself.

Klaus hopped off of the table. He glanced at Ben and the ghost shook his head despite the curious expression that was on his own face as well.

“Sure was, dear brother of mine. I think I’d like to speak to little me, so, if you’ll excuse me—” Klaus practically skipped out of the kitchen, Ben following after him exasperated.

The remaining siblings in the kitchen watched Klaus go, and eventually they followed suit.

They had no idea how much stranger the day was about to get.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s been a while since the last update, yes? sorry about that. this is short, but it will return. there will be more. thank you all for reading


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